


Here in Your Arms

by DustyTales



Series: Ghost on the Dance Floor [10]
Category: Nightwing (Comics), The Flash - All Media Types, Titans (TV 2018)
Genre: Gender Dysphoria, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Manic Episode, Sexual Dysfunction, Trans Dick Grayson, Transphobia
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-23
Updated: 2019-08-29
Packaged: 2020-09-25 00:22:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20367547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DustyTales/pseuds/DustyTales
Summary: Or, alternatively,Five times Dick and Wally raised each other up, and the one time they couldn't go any higher.





	1. Clocked

**Author's Note:**

> Tw: transphobia, hate crime, off screen assault

Wally lay sprawled out on his belly on the living room carpet, his dummy between his teeth and books and papers scattered in his wake. He held a pen between two fingers, tapping it thoughtfully against his palm and rolling the e-cigarette between his lips. Eventually, Wally groaned in frustration, plopping his head down on his scribble filled notebook.

"Who invented matrices and why are they so infuriating?" Wally whined into his papers.

His study partner, Linda Parks, looked up from her own notebook with a scowl. "Don't ask me, I'm a journalism major. Isn't math suppose to be your thing?"

Wally sat up just enough to glare at her. "I work with  _ physics. Engineering!  _ Hell, sometimes even  _ chemistry!  _ Where both sides of an equation have to be balanced by principal and projections are the same every single time you run them! A  _ matrix  _ is overly complex bullshit mathematicians use to feel superior to everyone else! Give me a list of equations, I got you. Turn them into a matrix? Just looking at it makes my head hurt."

Linda raised an unimpressed eyebrow at Wally's angry ranting. "Wow, tell us how you  _ really _ feel."

"Oh, can it." He grumbled, pulling the textbook closer to him in hopes of finding some sort of answer.

Before the answer came to him, however, the front door flew open, revealing Dick in a tank top and work out shorts. Wally opened his mouth to greet his partner with his usual, cheeky, 'Hey there, handsome', but the words died in his throat. Dick stalked across the room with his head down, fingers clutching the strap of his gym bag so tightly his knuckles were white. The man made a beeline for the bathroom, and slammed the door shut behind him without a word.

Wally looked to Linda with a wide eyed expression, her own features mirroring how he felt.

"I… need to check on him." Wally announced, sitting up and gathering his papers.

"I'll head home, watch some lessons. You've got your hands full." Linda answered, already packing up her bag.

Wally nodded, appreciative of her understanding. He took the time to pick up the living room and show Linda out, but even once he closed the front door behind her, Wally found himself hesitating. He stood in front of the bathroom door, worrying his lip between his teeth, unsure what to do now that he could hear the shower running. He wanted desperately to knock, but felt unsure if Dick would want the interruption. 

But no, he knew his blue bird. Dick didn't  _ actually  _ want to be alone when he was upset, he just didn't like to ask for comfort.

Wally would never want Dick to think that he wasn't happy to offer a place in his arms when he needed it.

He knocked on the bathroom door.

"Dickie?" Wally called, "Can I come in, baby?"

For a long moment all Wally could hear was the hiss of the shower head, but eventually he heard a soft reply of "Yeah… Lock the door behind you."

Wally found that the door was already locked, forcing him to phase a hand through the wood to click the bolt open from the other side. When Wally opened the door he found himself affronted by how thick the steam was, but he paid it no mind, and stepped inside. With the door closed again, the steam blanketed the room in heat and humidity.

Wally slowed time around him to let his eyes roam over every detail of the room: Dick's gym bag thrown in the corner, unopened; Basketball shorts wadded up on a floor, but no shirt; No shadow on the shower curtain, meaning Dick was sitting down in the tub; And most telling of all, a towel thrown over the mirror, so even without the thick fog of steam, Dick wouldn't be subjected to his own reflection.

This was a bad one.

The speedster allowed time to slip back into place around him, forcing himself to approach the tub without urgency as he pulled back the curtain just enough to peek inside.

Dick sat, still clothed in a now drenched tank top and briefs, knees to his chest and skin flushed an irritated red by the scorching water. Though his head was originally buried in his knees, he turned at the sound of the curtain, blinking his red-rimmed eyes at the other man.

"Hey, Wally." Dick croaked, voice cracked and raw.

Wally swallowed down the bile rising in his throat. "Hey, Dickie."

The two looked at each other for a long moment, the silence so heavy it made Wally's stomach churn with anxiety. As much as every cell in his body was screaming at him to scoop Dick up in his arms, he knew some days touch made Dick's skin crawl. He prayed it wasn't one of those days, he felt powerless to help his sweet bird on those days.

"Do you wanna be alone?" Wally finally forced out.

Dick swallowed thickly, before squeaking out a soft "No."

Wally's next series of actions were taken almost entirely on autopilot. He leaned over the tub to turn off the scorching shower, grabbed a towel off the rack, and pulled back the shower curtain. Now that his body wasn't being assaulted by near boiling water, Dick began to shiver and clutch his knees tighter.

This was unacceptable.

"Come on, pretty bird," Wally encouraged, offering a hand to Dick, "Let's get you out of those wet clothes."

Dick allowed himself to be helped from the tub, but he shook his head furiously when Wally reached for the hem of his shirt.

"No! I-I can't handle that right now. It's too m-m-much."

Wally furrowed his brows with worry, trying to understand. "Is it me touching you? Or is it…. Having to see yourself?"

Dick ducked his head in shame. "Second one."

Wally leaned forward to kiss the top of his partner's head, murmuring soothingly into his still dripping hair. "Close your eyes, Dickie bird. Let me take care of you."

Dick noticeably swallowed, but closed his eyes tightly.

Wally tapped into the speed force again, working as quickly as he dared. He stripped his partner of his clothes, dried his scorched skin, and slipped him into the first item of clean clothing he got his hands on, his own bathrobe from the back of the door. When Wally stepped back and let his powers relax, less than a second had passed for Dick.

It took the younger man a moment to shake off the feeling of Wally zipping around him, but when Dick blinked blearily down at himself, he seemed to relax. He pulled the too large bathrobe tighter around himself, as if comforted by its touch.

Wally didn't wait for the melancholy to set in again. He gently picked up his boyfriend, smiling when Dick curled into his neck. But as Dick was almost entirely muscle, Wally could only hold him up for so long, so he made his way out of the bathroom and into the privacy of their own bedroom before he was forced to put his partner down.

Wally settled the two of them in bed, smiling fondly at the way Dick clung to him. The speedster kissed his lover's forehead, allowing the two to lapse into comfortable silence.

They lay there long enough that Wally had assumed Dick had fallen asleep before the younger spoke.

"I got clocked at the gym." 

Wally blinked down at the man curled up on his chest. "You… what?"

"I got  _ clocked," _ Dick repeated, clutching at Wally's shirt, "In the locker room, this guy  _ saw  _ and he  _ stared  _ and he  _ followed me out _ and-" He sat up to look Wally in the eye, his own watering again, "He had a knife, Walls. If I wasn't ready, if I wasn't  _ Robin,  _ he'd have gutted me and dumped me there to bleed out. I had to choke him out and just… run."

Wally was thunderstruck. He opened his mouth and closed it without a word several times before his brain came back online.

"Are you telling me" Wally began, his voice becoming a growl as his shock became rage, "That some asshole tried to  _ stab you  _ in a  _ back alley  _ because he realized you're trans while creeping on you in the locker room?!"

Dick flinched at Wally's harsh tone, and the speedster forced himself to relax. Dick didn't need his rage right now, he needed his comfort.

Wally began to pepper his lover's hair with kisses.

"Did he hurt you?" He asked instead, "Are you alright?"

The tension melted from Dick's body once again, burying his face in Wally's shoulder. But the only answer he gave his lover was

"No."

Wally had known that would be the answer, but it broke his heart to hear it all the time. He wrapped his arms more tightly around his Robin.

"You're safe now, sweet bird," The speedster whispered between kisses, "You're so strong, so beautiful. I know some people disagree but… sometimes people are wrong."

Dick sniffled in his lover's arms, pulling the bathrobe tighter around himself.

"I'm sorry," he muttered, "I should be used to fights. It used to be my every day."

"This is different, and you know it," Wally scolded, careful not to raise his voice again, "You weren't attacked as Robin, or even as Officer Grayson. You were attacked as  _ Dick,  _ walking home from the gym and minding your own business. That is  _ scary  _ and it's okay to be shaken up by it."

Dick made a small noise of acknowledgment, shifting to snuggle more comfortably against Wally's broad chest.

"What can I do to help, Dickie?" Wally whispered into Dick's curls. 

The younger man sniffled again, and when he spoke his voice sounded broken.

"Please… just hold me."

The other man pulled his lover impossibly tighter, pressing a kiss to his temple.

"Nothing in the universe could ever make me let go."


	2. Klonopin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wally hates to say no to Dick. Dick finds this unacceptable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is in no way based off my own experience taking klonopin for manic episodes.  
Nope. That would be embarrassing.

The bed springs creaked as Dick rolled Wally onto his back, groaning softly at the obscene noise of their lips smacking together. 

It was late, the house was quiet, but Dick was anything but tired. He'd just gotten home from a quick sweep of the streets from the rooftops, and the adrenaline was still pumping in his veins. Wally had been surprised when Dick pounced on him, but he had made no real protest.

However, Wally's hands seemed slightly hesitant as they lightly skimmed Dick's back, and the thought made him pause. Wally's mouth was almost sluggish against his, and Dick found himself furrowing his brow as he pulled away.

"Is something wrong?" Dick asked as he sat back on the bed.

Wally blinked owlishly at him. "No! No I'm… I'm fine."

He was lying. His nerves were entirely too obvious.

Dick gave his partner a skeptical look. "You're a terrible liar. Come on Walls, what's on your mind?"

Wally sighed, averting his gaze. "Promise you won't laugh?"

That question immediately erased all humor from Dick's posture. He laid down on the bed next to his boyfriend, wrapping his arms around the larger man's middle.

"I'm not gonna laugh at something that's genuinely worrying you." Dick responded firmly.

Wally visibly swallowed, and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"I don't think I can, uh... get it up tonight."

Dick was admittedly blindsided by this, but there was no part of him that wanted to laugh.

"Are you stressed out? It's totally fine, but that's… unlike you."

Wally's face twitched a bit in discomfort before he threw one arm over his face to hide in the crook of his elbow.

"I… had a manic episode earlier," Wally admitted, "I had to take a pill to settle down and these ones are hard shit, Dickie. The side effects aren't too bad but until I burn it off I just... I  _ can't." _

Dick tightened his arms around his lover almost subconsciously. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine. Give me like… maybe an hour? It doesn't last long, or anything-"

"Wally, your cock is the last thing I'm worried about right now," Dick interrupted, "Are  _ you _ okay?"

Wally peeked out at Dick from under his arm, brow still pinched. "I'm kinda out of it," he admitted, "I don't have that 'oh God if I have to sit still for one more second I will literally die' feeling anymore, which is good. But I don't really feel normal. I just feel drugged."

Dick reached up to gently stroke Wally's cheek. "This happened when I was out?"

The speedster grunted in the affirmative. 

"Things have been quiet lately. I'd have come home if you called me."

Wally turned, looking away from Dick. "The city needs you more than I do."

Dick physically recoiled in response, and found himself grabbing Wally by the shoulder to roll him onto his back again. Wally blinked at him in surprise, but Dick didn't give him time to speak.

"No. Absolutely not, Wally!" The younger man scolded, "We're partners, that means we're in this together. I need to be able to trust you to call me when you need me the same way you need to trust me to come when you call. If I can't trust you not to burst into flames and let yourself burn out of self pity the second I turn my back, this isn't going to work. If you need me, you call. Do I make myself clear?"

Wally blinked rapidly in shock, before nodding with a jerk. "Y-yeah. I guess I wasn't thinking, I… I'm sorry, Dick."

Dick's posture softened, and he leaned forward to kiss his boyfriend's forehead.

"Don't apologize, love. I'm sorry I got so worked up…" Dick muttered, resting their foreheads together, "I just… worry. A lot. I try not to, but I can't keep my anxiety in check when you talk like that."

Wally sighed, and the air puffed out across Dick's face.

"I hate that I make you worry. It's just hard to think logically during an episode," the speedster whispered, "all I could think about was calling you, and the distraction getting you hurt. So I popped a pill, and when you got home I had settled down. And then you pounced on me as soon as you walked in the door so…"

Dick felt guilt grip his chest, but he shook it off for now. No time for self pity.

"I'm sorry I made you feel pressured," Dick replied, brushing their noses together affectionately, "I'll be more conscious of that. In the future… please don't be afraid to push me away if you don't feel up to it. For any reason. I promise, I'll never be mad. Or laugh at you."

Wally hummed, tilting his head to brush their lips together. 

Dick chuckled, pulling away just enough to plant a kiss on Wally's nose.

"What can I do to help?" He asked.

Wally blinked hazy green eyes at him before sighing once more. "Just… stay with me."

Dick smiled softly, wrapping himself around his partner and nuzzling at his cheek.

"I'm not going anywhere."


End file.
